PTSD: Symptoms, Signs, and Treatment
At Arcara Personalized Psychiatry, our nurse practitioners take time with patients to ensure effective PTSD management and treatment in Boston and Westborough. With over 30 years of experience, we use EMDR, CBT, medication management, and other proven methods to help you work through your past trauma.
What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) happens after you experience or witness difficult events. These can include car accidents, assaults, natural disasters, combat, and childhood abuse.
With individuals dealing with PTSD, their brains get stuck in survival mode even once the danger passes. This can lead to treating safe situations like threats, which disrupts how you think, feel, sleep, and connect with others. Symptoms can interfere with daily life for months or years.
Signs and Symptoms of PTSD
Flashbacks:
Triggers can instantly put you back in a traumatic moment, as if it’s happening again. This includes the same intense emotions and physical sensations.
Avoidance of Triggers:
This can involve dodging people, places, conversations, or activities that remind you of the trauma. Sometimes, avoidance can lead to isolation.
A Sense of Isolation:
You can feel deeply disconnected from others. This can cause the belief that nobody could understand what you went through or what you’re feeling.
Excessive Tension:
PTSD can cause tight muscles, jaw clenches, and overall tension in your body. This occurs even in safe places where you should be able to relax.
Intrusive Memories:
Unwanted thoughts, images, or sensory memories pop into your mind. This is usually without warning, making it hard to concentrate on daily tasks.
Depression:
You can lose interest in activities you once enjoyed, feel hopeless about the future, or experience persistent sadness tied to the traumatic event.
Hyperarousal (Reactivity) Symptoms:
Symptoms include constantly being on edge, getting easily startled by sudden noises, feeling irritable or angry, and engaging in risky behavior.
Nightmares and Sleep Disturbances:
Vivid, distressing dreams about the trauma can occur. You may wake up frequently, or even avoid sleep entirely, due to fear of the bad dreams.
Feelings of Guilt and Shame:
You may blame yourself for the traumatic event, feeling responsible for things beyond your control, or feeling ashamed about how you reacted.
PTSD doesn’t always involve flashbacks and nightmares. Mood swings and behavioral changes can seem unrelated, which complicates diagnoses. Often, the person suffering from PTSD is unaware that their symptoms are connected to a trauma.
Types of PTSD
Understanding the type of PTSD you might be experiencing can inform treatment.
Acute PTSD
It develops within three months and includes flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, and constant tension. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, EMDR therapy, and medication management are often beneficial approaches.
Chronic PTSD
It can last longer than three months, sometimes years, disrupting sleep, relationships, and work. For healing, ongoing therapies and medication management are often recommended.
Delayed-Onset PTSD
Symptoms surface six months or more after trauma. This type is often triggered by new stress that brings back old memories. Care typically starts with a psychiatric evaluation, followed by EMDR or CBT.
Comorbid PTSD
Comorbid PTSD often occurs with depression, anxiety, or ADHD. We use testing and medication management to treat everything together for lasting relief.
Complex PTSD (C-PTSD)
C-PTSD follows repeated trauma like childhood abuse or domestic violence. Beyond typical symptoms, there’s trouble with trust, relationships, guilt, shame, and emotional flux. Treatment combines EMDR or CBT with coping skills and lifestyle support.
Next Step: If you think you may be experiencing PTSD, start with our psychiatric assessment. We’ll help 0design a care plan with the right combination of therapies, medication support, and coping strategies.
Treatment Options for PTSD
For adults dealing with any related symptoms after trauma, we provide customizable PTSD treatment plans with a range of approaches to help you manage.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is a highly effective trauma care. EMDR therapy for PTSD helps you lessen the emotional intensity of bad memories.
This care approach includes cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure. CBT for PTSD helps change negative thought patterns and reduce avoidance.
Any medication options for PTSD are often combined with therapy. SSRIs like sertraline and paroxetine are FDA-approved. These help with anxiety, sleep, and depression.
Supportive Treatments for PTSD
Coping Skills
Learn helpful tools that work best alongside therapy rather than replacing it. We teach you practical coping skills for triggers you can use when symptoms hit.
Lifestyle Suggestions
Changes to your daily routine can support recovery, in addition to other treatments for PTSD. We provide guidance on sleep, stress, and recovery habits to fit into your life.
Cognitive Testing/Psychiatric Assessments
Our memory and attention testing helps us discover what’s going on, measure your symptoms accurately, and rule out other conditions ahead of tailored care.
What Successful Treatment Looks Like
- Symptom scores drop (PCL-5 scores)
- Fewer nightmares and flashbacks
- Better sleep duration and quality
- Higher sense of safety and control
- Less avoidance and stronger relationships
Benefits of Our PTSD Treatment Plan
At Arcara, our treatment methods for post-traumatic stress disorder offer advantages, such as:
- Longer appointments so we can properly understand your situation
- Individualized plan built around your trauma history and current symptoms
- Specialized training with decades of experience from our nurse practitioners
- Check-ins, medicine adjustments, and therapy changes based on your progress
- Whole-person care with EMDR, CBT, medication, coping skills, lifestyle guidance
Get Help With Your PTSD
PTSD can feel isolating, but you’re not alone. This condition affects the mind and body, calling for a holistic treatment plan to help you heal. At Arcara, our expert team ensures effective care by starting with a full evaluation and following with medication management, evidence-based therapies, and lifestyle support.
If you believe you may be suffering from PTSD, don’t hesitate to call us. The first step toward healing is diagnosis. After that, we can begin to support you in your journey to recovery.
We have offices in Westborough and Boston. Fill out our online intake form or call us directly.
Request an Appointment
We have offices in Westborough, Boston. Fill out our online intake form or call us directly.
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FAQs
What is PTSD in veterans?
Often, PTSD can develop after combat or deployment. Symptoms commonly include nightmares, flashbacks, constant vigilance, anger, and trouble adjusting to civilian life.
What does a PTSD attack look like?
An attack for those experiencing PTSD can feel like reliving the trauma. Symptoms include a racing heart, sweating, shaking, and disconnection from reality. Grounding techniques are a common treatment option to help reduce intensity.
How do you recover from PTSD?
The most helpful PTSD treatments include trauma-focused therapy (like EMDR or CBT), medication for anxiety or sleep, and building strong coping skills. While symptoms may not vanish overnight, most people improve with consistent care.
What should you do when someone is having a PTSD episode?
If a loved one is having a PTSD episode, it’s best to stay calm and speak softly. Don’t initiate physical touch unless the individual says it’s okay. Rather, help them breathe slowly and focus on their surroundings. Reassure them that they’re safe and seek help if the episode is severe.
Can PTSD go away?
With treatment, many people can have major relief or full remission from PTSD. Some can still experience triggers but learn to manage them successfully.
What is the most successful treatment for PTSD?
EMDR therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are the gold standard for PTSD care. Approved medications help reduce anxiety, nightmares, and depression. For improved well-being that lasts, a combined approach is favored.
Can someone with PTSD live a normal life?
Yes. With treatment, people return to work, improve relationships, and maintain routines. Therapy alongside lifestyle changes can reduce symptoms for better safety.
What medications are FDA-approved for PTSD?
Sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil) are often used as part of medication management for post-traumatic stress disorder. Other antidepressants may be used off-label but require strict medical supervision.
What are the best antipsychotics for PTSD?
Antipsychotic drugs are not typically a first option for PTSD. However, it may be used and tailored if severe symptoms don’t improve with therapy and antidepressants.
Does exercise help with PTSD? Which types are best?
Yes. Exercise can help reduce stress, improve sleep, and boost mood. As part of holistic lifestyle suggestions, exercises can include aerobic methods (walking, running, swimming) to regulate the nervous system. It can also involve strength training to build resilience and mind-body practices (yoga, tai chi) to support grounding and calm tension.
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